Elizabeth Moon by Vatta's War 1 Trading in Danger

Author:Vatta's War 1, Trading in Danger
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-10-22T20:14:56+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Ky felt the rise in tension. "And what is that?" she asked.

He looked at her a moment, and then nodded. "All right. We had hoped to use your ship as a courier to the ISC, but since you have no FTL drive, we can't. However, we need a place to stash some neutral civilians who might otherwise give us problems. Your ship is more than adequate for that task. The only problem is that some of them are older than you, and--at least in their own estimation--rank higher. We would prefer to have civilians under civilian command--saves us work, and prevents certain kinds of problems--but that will depend on you. We would, essentially, like to hire Vatta Transport to transport--temporarily and in this system--some passengers. For that service, we are prepared to pay standard per diem for an expected duration of that transport." He glanced down at his desk display. "If our calculations are correct, that would come to something in the neighborhood of two hundred fifty thousand credits."

Two hundred fifty thousand credits. That would repay the loan on Sabine Prime and finance the repairs to the FTL drive as well...

She tried not to smile. "You do realize we have limited quarters for additional personnel," she said. "How many were you anticipating?"

"Your environmental system will handle a total of seventy, isn't that correct?"

"Seventy! Yes, though that's right at redline. Fifty-five's the rated limit. But we don't have the space--"

"You have cargo holds--aired up, I'm informed. We'd supply some amenities--pallets and blankets--"

"My cargo holds are stuffed full of cargo," Ky said. "On contract to the Economic Development Bureau on Belinta."

"They'd have to be emptied--or at least enough to accommodate fifty additional passengers. With your present crew that keeps you under the redline."

"Just barely," Ky said. "And we can't just dump cargo--we have a contract. You understand contracts--" She could not believe she was arguing with a man who had her completely at his mercy, but Vatta stubbornness held her spine stiff.

"Indeed we do understand contracts, Captain Vatta--it is in pursuit of our own contract obligations that we find ourselves in need of your ship. For which we are willing to pay reasonable fees. Do you understand necessity?"

She did. "Yes," she said, admitting it. "But that cargo--"

"It's your customer's money," Major Harris said. "Surely there's insurance?"

"Actually, no," Ky said. "They had an earlier shipment which was lost--by another carrier. Their insurance is not willing to pay on that, because the cargo completely disappeared. They hired me to bring them another, but insisted it be on spec."

"So--it's your money in your holds?"

"Yes."

He stared at his desk display, lips folded under. When he looked up, Ky thought she saw the ghost of a smile in the crinkles by his eyes. "All right, Captain, here's our best offer. We'll have people help you net your cargo, and put a homer tag on it, so you can pick it up later. In fact, we'll help you load it later. And we'll pay the full per diem for those passengers.

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